Page 347 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 20
Saluting the Women of the WRAC and RAVC
To devote a chapter to the women of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps without paying tribute to their forebears, the members of the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC), would be an abso- lute travesty. The two are inextricably linked in military history.
The WRAC arrived at the then RAVC Depot in Melton Mowbray on 8th August 1962 and over the next 30 years provided invaluable assistance to the then all-male RAVC in the provision of animal care both at home and overseas. By the time the WRAC kennel maids and rider/grooms were re-badged RAVC on 1st March 1992, the contribution made by women in the Armed Forces was successfully established.
WRAC History:
When the WRAC was formed on 1st February 1949, it immediately absorbed the remaining troops of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) – the women’s branch of the British Army that launched nine years earlier on 9th September 1938. The ATS operated throughout the Second World War recruiting some famous people into the smart brown uniform including Winston Churchill’s youngest daughter, Mary, and the young Princess Elizabeth, our future Queen. After the war there was still an appetite amongst girls and women to join the Armed Forces making the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) and the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the ATS genuine female career choices.
After 1949, when the WRAC became the singular Corps for all women serving in the Army – with the exception of medical and veterinary orderlies, chaplains, and nurses – a variety of training oppor- tunities opened up including serving beyond home shores. Between 1942 and 1992 WRAC women served in over 40 trades in Operations across the world including Cyprus (1955 – 1959), Northern Ireland (1969 – 1992), the Falklands (1982 – 1983) and the Gulf (1990 – 1991). One of the duties covered by the women included patrol work with Arms and Explosive Search dogs.1
1 National Army Museum – The WRAC.
2 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 33 No 2 Autumn 1962.
The arrival of the WRAC contingent coincided not only with a general reduction in RAVC personnel but also the cessation of National Service, leaving the Corps shorthanded. Faced with this situation, the RAVC Journal (Autumn 1962) included a report which reflected the excitement of the time – the arrival of the women:
The big news of past weeks has been the impending, then the subsequent, arrival of the Women’s Royal Army Corps contingent comprising one Officer and thirty-four Other Ranks...We are very pleased to welcome this party from the WRAC, who will give us a much-needed hand in helping with every day stable and kennel management. Incidentally, this is by no means the first time that girls have handled war dogs, as members of the Corps will recall ATS personnel at Potters Bar at the end of war.”2
It’s true that the women were no strangers to stepping into their male counterparts’ shoes in war and peacetime. Undaunted by what lay ahead of them work wise at Melton Mowbray, the women were perhaps more aware of the novelty of stepping into a previously female-free zone.
To facilitate their gradual introduction to the Corps, the WRACs arrived in two batches, as best described by a spokesperson of the day: “...with regard to the sudden influx of women, the Unit bore up admirably and we couldn’t have wished for a better welcome. The accom- modation with its attractive feminine decor produced much enthusiasm, and ‘fabulous’ was the general verdict expressed. The special working dress is still a novelty, and a pair of jodhpurs is definitely the favourite garment in each wardrobe at present.”
If there was one thing that all the RAVC and WRAC personnel shared, it was an interest in animals and their welfare. This was the common ground that the men and women of both Corps worked from. Some of the girls had previous experience in stables and kennels, others had not, but they were all attending courses at the War Dog Training School (WDTS) followed by corresponding training at the Remount Depot, Equitation School and Veterinary Hospital. Again, the RAVC Journal of Autumn 1962 captured the spirit of the time in the words of a WRAC recruit: “All students on the present
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